Boat anchor



May 26, 1959 w, MADDEN 2,887,980

BOAT ANCHOR Filed May 8, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet-l FIG .I

I3 INVENTOR DAVID W. MADDEN 14%; flu,

'ATTY'S.

D. W. MADDEN BOAT ANCHOR May 26, 1959 Filed May 8, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTY'S.

United States Patent BOAT ANCHOR David W. Madden, Chicago, Ill.

Application May 8, 1957', Serial No. 657,829

Claims. (Cl. 114-208) The present invention relates to boat anchors and particularly to a boat anchor of the type which may be operated to release itself from an anchorage or a snagging surface.

A general object of the invention is to provide an improved boat anchor which is operative for release from an anchorage and which is capable of withstanding pulling forces or surges arising under any anchoring condition and which is collapsible when not in use.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a boat anchor of an improved structure wherein the fiukes thereof are pivotally mounted to the shank of the anchor and wherein there is included an adjustably resilient escapement arrangement cooperating with the fiukes to firmly support the fiukes in an outwardly extended anchoring position and to release the fiukes from their supported position only in response to the application at the shank and between the shank and an imbedded anchoring fluke of a distending force, whereupon the fluke and the shank are moved relative to one .another so that the fluke moves from the outwardly extended anchoring position to a distended position displaced from the shank and substantially in the axis thereof and is disengaged from the anchoring surface.

Further features of the invention pertain to the particular structure of the improved boat anchor, whereby the above outlines and additional operating features thereof are attained.

The invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following specifications taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which;

Figure 1 is a side plan view partially in section of the anchor in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2'is a top sectional view of the anchor taken along lines 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged sideview of the resilient escapernent arrangement for the anchor showing the fiukes in their released condition; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged partial side view of the resilient escapement arrangement showing a fluke in its supported position and collapsed for storage.

Considering now the structure of the boat anchor in accordance with the invention and referring specifically to Figures 1 and 2, the anchor comprises an upstanding shank member 11, and a plurality of fiukes 12, here shown to be four in number, arranged radially to the longitudinal axis of the shank member, each pivotally supported on the shank member by a fluke support or arm 13. The shank member 11 is made up of a shaft 14 terminated at its upper end by a shank head 15 and terminated at its lower end in pivot projections 16. The shank head 15 is formed at its upper surface in a cavity to receive the swivel .head of an vanchor eyelet 17 by means of which the anchor 10 is attached to an anchor rope. The shaft 14 carries thereon a slidable collar 18 which constitutes one element of the resilient escapement "ice arrangement and for which the under surface 18a flares outwardly as well as downwardly. In addition, the shaft 14 is threaded from below the shank head 15 and to an intermediate portion of the shaft to receive a hand nut 19. Further, a coil spring 20, which constitutes the resilient element of the escapement arrangement, is carried on the shaft 14 between the collar 18 and the hand nut 19. Each fluke support or arm 13 is of the bell crank lever shape being pivotally mounted at the juncture between its lever arms 13a and 13b on a pair of pivot projections 16 so that inone pivotal position the lever arm 13a is upstanding from the fulcrum and adjacent to the shaft 14 and the lever arm 13b extends outwardly from the fulcrum pointand the shaft 14. The lever arm 13a of each fluke support is rounded at its inside edge 27a to meet the straight outside edge 27b thereof and constitutes an element of the resilient escapement arrangement which in its upstanding position is over-lapped and engaged at its edge 27a by the flared surface 18a of the collar 18. When the collar 18 so engages the lever arms 13a, the coil spring 20 is in compression between the collar 18 and the hand nut 19 and forces the flared surface 18a of the collar 18 against the rounded edge 27a of each lever arm 13a so that each support 13 is rotated about its fulcrum and the edge 27b of each lever arm 13a is forced into engagement with the shaft 14. In this circumstance the fluke supports 13 I are considered to be captured by the collar 18 of the.

escapement arrangement and it is only through the exercise of considerable force applied downwardly against a lever arm 13b of a fluke support that the collar '18 is displaced from its overlapping position with regard pressive force exercised by the coil 20 against thev collar 18.

Each of the flukes 12 is of a conventional shape being substantially flat and thin, pointed at one end for grap-.

pling and digging into an anchoring surface, wide at its middle to provide a substantial area for holding the.

anchor in an imbedded anchoring position and shaped at its other end for mounting on the lever arm 13b of the associated fluke support 13. As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 each of the fiukes 12 includes a longitudinally extending ridge 22 adding to the rigidity of the fluke member. At its mounting end, the fluke 12 has formed apair of downwardly and outwardly projecting tabs 23 spaced apart to be received on a lever arm 13b. The fluke 12 is mounted on the associated fluke support by positioning the fluke over the lever arm 13b so that the ridge 22 is adjacent to the top surface of the arm and the tabs 23 engage the sides of the lever arm at an intermediate point. The tabs 23 are connected to the lever arm 13b by means of a rivet 24 so that the fluke is free to rotate upwardly from the lever arm 13b as shown in Figure 4. To lock the fluke 12 in position against the lever arm 13b, there is provided a spring 25 which is fixed at one end to the lever arm 13b, extends longitudinally along the upper surface thereof and is bent to form a lateral surface 26 for engaging the butt end 28 of the fluke 12. The spring is shaped so that it may be depressed to disengage the lateral surface 26 from thefluke 12.

Considering now the mode of operation of the boat anchor in accordance with, the invention, the anchor is prepared for operation as shown in Figure 1 with the collar 18 in overlapping capturing engagement with the lever arms 13a of the fluke supports 13, the fiukes 12 rotated into engagement with the lever arms 13b and locked in position by the springs 25, and the hand nut 19 positioned to compress the spring coil 20 the amount necessary to hold the anchor against the anticipated pulling forces. It the surface of the body of water is calm and there is no water current, the hand nut 19 may be positioned in close proximity to the shank head 15 thereby to establish only a slight amount of compressive force in the coil operative against the collar 18. When adjusted in this manner and placed in anchoring position with one or more of the flukes 12 embedded in the lake or river bottom, the anchor will hold against pulling forces experienced from normal surging movements of the boat, thereby firmly holding the boat in the anchored position. When it is desired to retrieve the anchor, 21 strong pull is applied to the anchoring rope which is transmitted via the anchor eyelet 17 to the shank 11 and tends to rotate the shank about the embedded fiukes 12. With the fiukes 12 firmly embedded they will not be released, but the shank will tend to rotate about the fulcrum points of the associated fluke supports causing the lever arms 13a to operate against the collar 18 and to displace the collar on the shaft 14 against the coil 20. Assuming a sustained pull, the collar 18 will be displaced from overlapping engagement with the operative lever arms 13a so as to permit escapement thereof. Thereupon the shank member and the embedded fluke move relative to one another and the fluke 12 is distended from a radially extended position to a substantially axially extended position as shown in Figure 3. Thereafter, pulling forces applied to the anchor rope are transmitted along the axis of the shank member 11 and the axially extended fluke 12 so that the embedded fluke 12 is retracted from the anchoring surface. The anchor may then be drawn into the boat and collapsed for storage.

In preparing the anchor for storage, the hand nut 19 is screwed on the shaft 14 into engagement with the shank head 15, thereby to relieve the forces applied to the collar 18. Then the lever arm 13a of each bell crank 13 is positioned in overlapped captured engagement with the collar 18, as previously explained, and the hand nut 19 readjusted to hold the fluke supports 13 in the captured position. Thereafter, the spring 25 on each of the fluke supports is depressed to disengage the lateral face 26 thereof from the butt end 28 of the associated fluke 12 and the fluke is rotated upwardly, in a manner as shown in Figure 4, to collapse against the shank member 11. The anchor 10 is now in a condition to be stored. To prepare the anchor for reuse, it is necessary only to rotate the flukes 12 from their collapsed position into engagement with the lever arms 13b of the associated fluke supports 13 until the lateral surface 26 of each spring 25 engages the butt end 28 of the associated fluke.

Considering now the circumstance wherein the anchor 10 is to be used to anchor a boat in a body of water marked by strong currents or under weather conditions where the boat is buffeted by waves and strong winds, it is necessary to adjust the resilient escapement arrangement of the anchor to hold the flukes in their extended anchoring position against the strong pulling forces that can reasonably be expected to be exercised by the boat against the anchor. Specifically, the resilient escapement arrangement is adjusted to increase the compressive forces of the spring coil 20, and thereby increase the pressure applied against the collar 18, by screwing the hand nut 19 against the coil spring 20'. Accordingly, the amount of force between the shank member 11 and a fluke 12 required to disengage the lever arm 13a of the associated fluke support 13 from captured engagement with the collar 18 is increased and the anchor 10 will hold securely against that amount of pulling force. When this amount of pulling force is exceeded, as by an occupant of the boat applying a strong pull to the anchor rope, the fluke support 13 associated with the embedded fluke 12 will be released from captured engagement with the collar 18, in a manner as previously 4 explained, so that the anchor may be retracted from the anchoring surface and may be retrieved.

As has been pointed out, the adjustment of the resilient escapement arrangement by positioning of the hand nut 19 is determined from the current and surface conditions of the body of water but in addition thereto consideration must also be given to the weight of the occupied boat and the hydro-dynamic characteristics of the boat, as these factors will also contribute to the ultimate determination of the amount of pull exercised by the boat against the anchor. From a consideration of these factors, the boat anchor in accordance with the invention may be adjusted and be utilized to provide a firm, secure anchorage and at the same time lend itself to a disengaging operation which substantially diminishes the possibility of the anchor being inextractably snagged in an anchorage surface.

While there has been described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that various modifications may be made therein, and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A boat anchor comprising a shank member, a plurality of anchoring flukes, a corresponding plurality of fluke supports arranged radially to the axis of said shank member, each of said fluke supports being a bell crank lever pivotally mounted at its apex to one end of said shank member so that in one pivotal position one lever arm thereof is adjacent to the surface of said shank member and the other lever arm thereof carrying the associated fluke at the extremity thereof extends outwardly from said shank member, whereby each of said fiukes is rotatable in the plane of the associated fluke support about the one end of said shank member between a radially extended position and an axially extended position, a collar slidable on said shank member flared to overlap the extremity of said one lever arm of each fluke support, and resilient means operative between said shank member and said collar forcing said collar into overlapping engagement with said one lever arm of each fluke support for rotating said one lever arm in one direction against said shank member thereby to support the associated fluke in said radially extended position and to restrain counter-rotational movement thereof, wherein responsive to the application of a substantial counter-rotational force between said shank member and any one of said radially extended flukes said one lever arm of the associated fluke support is counter-rotated against the flared portion of said collar to force said collar against said resilient means and from overlapping engagement with one lever arm, whereupon said one fluke is rotatable from said radially extended position to said axially extended position.

2. A boat anchor comprising a shank member, a plurality of anchoring fiukes, a corresponding plurality of fluke supports arranged radially to the axis of said shank member, each of said fluke supports being a bell crank lever pivotally mounted at its apex to one end of said shank member so that in one pivotal position one lever arm thereof is adjacent to the surface of said shank member and the other lever arm thereof carrying the associated fluke at the extremity thereof extends outwardly from said shank member, whereby each of said flukes is rotatable in the plane of the associated fluke support about the one end of said shank member between a radially extended position and an axially extended position, a collar slidable on said shank member flared to overlap the extremity of said one lever arm of each fluke support, a shank nut threaded on said shank member, and a coil spring positioned between said shank nut and said collar in adjustable compression forcing said collar into overlapping engagement with said one lever arm of each fluke support for rotating said one lever arm in one direction against said shank member thereby to support the associated fluke in said radially extended position and to restrain counter-rotational movement thereof, wherein responsive to the application of a substantial counter-rotational force between said shank member and any one of said radially extended flukes said one lever arm of the associated fluke support is counter-rotated against the flared portion of said collar to force said collar against said coil spring and from overlapping engagement therewith, whereupon said one fluke is rotatable from said radially extended position to said axially extended position.

3 A boat anchor comprising a shank member carrying at the head end thereof a swivel mounted anchor eyelet for receiving an anchor rope, a plurality of anchoring flukes, a corresponding plurality of fluke supports arranged radially to the axis of said shank member, each of said fluke supports being a bell crank lever pivotally mounted at its apex to the heel end of said shank member so that in one pivotal position one lever arm thereof is adjacent to the surface of said shank member and the other lever arm thereof extends outwardly from said shank member, said one lever arm of each fluke support being rounded on the inside edge at the extremity thereof, said other lever arm of each fluke support carrying the associated fluke at the extremity thereof so that each of said flukes is rotatable in the plane of the associated fluke support about the heel end of said shank member between a radially extended position and an axially extended position, a collar slidable on said shank member flared to overlap the extremity of said one lever arm of each fluke support, a shank nut threaded on said shank member, and a coil spring positioned between said shank nut and said collar in adjustable compression forcing the flared portion of said collar into overlapping engagement with the rounded edge of said one lever arm of each fluke support for rotating said one lever arm .in one direction against said shank member thereby to support the associated fluke in said radially extended position and to restrain counter-rotational movement thereof, wherein responsive to the application of a substantial counter-rotational force between said shank member and any one of said radially extended flukes said one lever arm of the associated fluke support is counter-rotated against the flared portion of said collar to force said collar against said coil spring and from overlapping engagement therewith, whereupon said one fluke is rotatable from said radially extended position to said axially extended position.

4. A boat anchor comprising a shank member carrying at the head end thereof a swivel mounted anchor eyelet for receiving an anchor rope, a plurality of anchoring flukes, a corresponding plurality of fluke supports arranged radially to the axis of said shank member, each of said fluke supports being a bell crank lever pivotally mounted at its apex to the heel end of said shank member so that in one pivotal position one lever arm thereof is adjacent to the surface of said shank member and the other lever arm thereof extends outwardly from said shank member, said one lever arm of each fluke support being rounded on the inside edge at the extremity thereof, pivot means on said other lever arm of each fluke support pivotally carrying the associated fluke in an anchoring position longitudinal thereto and rotatable into a storing position transverse thereto so that each of said flukes is rotatable about a portion of the associated fluke support in the plane thereof and each of said flukes and the associated fluke support is rotatable about the heel end of said shank member between a radially extended position and an axially extended position, a collar slidable on said shank member and flared to overlap the extremity of said one lever arm of each of said fluke supports in said one pivotal position, a shank nut threaded on said shank member, and a coil spring positioned between said shank nut and said collar in adjustable compression forcing the flared portion of said collar into overlapping engagement with the rounded edge of said one lever arm in one direction against said shank member thereby to support the associated fluke in said radially extended position and to restrain counter-rotational movement thereof, wherein responsive to the application of a substantial counter-rotational force between said shank member and any one of said longitudinally positioned radially extended flukes said one lever arm of the associated fluke support is counter-rotated against the flared portion of said collar to force said collar against said coil spring and from overlapping engagement therewith, whereupon said one fluke is rotatable from said radially extended position to said axially extended position.

5. The boat anchor set forth in claim 4 further comprising a locking spring on said other lever arm of each fluke support automatically engaging the associated fluke when in said longitudinal anchoring position locking said fluke thereat and disen-gageable from said fluke for permitting rotation thereof into said transverse storing position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 411,948 Wixon Oct. 1, 1889 877,761 Cummings Jan. 28, 1908 2,170,889 Allin Aug. 29, 1939 2,674,970 Andrews Apr. 13, 1954 

